How much money does Tony Soprano make?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ธ.ค. 2024
- In this episode, we will attempt to determine how much money consistently goes up the ladder to Tony Soprano by first establishing a figure on the bottom level and following it up the chain, where we find out exactly how little the FBI knows about the New Jersey mob. This will cause us to have to take an interesting detour and discuss the structure and composition of the New Jersey family.
I look forward to these every week!! You do a great job and you're voice works very well with this context. 👊👍
Glad you like it. Thanks for watching!
Same
Been wondering about this for a while😂
I also look forward to you weekly videos. Remember, there's a one video per week minimum.
Major crack dealers in the 80s and 90s made more money in a month than the whole soprano crew made in a year.
The saddest thing of all is that regardless of his earning potential, Tony didn’t have the makings of a varsity athlete.
I think he did
HILARIOUS!!!
He wasn’t athletic… you kinda need that to succeed and flourish as an athlete…. He was good at doing evil tho 🤷🏾♂️
STUPIDA FACKING COMMENT. It’s been 25 years. Giveta facking break already.
Insufferable fanboys.
It's about time someone finally said this for the 4millionth time. Thank you for bringing much needed attention to this obvious fact.
One thing that wasn’t discussed was Tony’s gambling problem and how it significantly effected his finances, especially in the later seasons. He had to borrow money from Hesh, got furious with Carmela about not betting on his game and having her own money, but at the beginning of the show he barely cared about the 40k she took from the bird feeder. Would take a chunk out of his income for sure.
Comprehension must not be your strong suit.
40k from the bird feeder? You sound demented
Carmela did steal money from Tony that he hid outside the house. I just watched that episode two days ago. Xfinity played the entire series. I last saw it 20 years ago on HBO. She did steal money from him. Also, I might add, Carmela was as nasty as Tony. She also enjoyed subtly threatening people using her husband’s position, in the mob, to satisfy her own needs and wants. I loved how she acted upset and devastated when someone was whacked or simply died, then quickly got over it by going on a vacation, receiving an expensive piece of jewelry or making coffee, and scones. Carmela and Tony were both created in hell.
@@laurenurban3942yes of course she is told to leave tony or Rot and she stayed with him
This is just about income though. Obviously he wastes money on all sorts of stupid shit
One of the most interesting moments of the entire series was when AJ went to his girlfriend Devon's house for the first time. She and his friends had already hyped him up about being a mob boss' son, asking where the guard dogs were, and hearing Carmella ignorantly brag about a 3000 dollar vase next to the sofa.
And then AJ goes to Devon's and sees what real wealth is. Devon's family had art work on the walls probably worth the same value as the Soprano family's West Caldwell house. Her dad, likely in finance, was one of the true masters of the universe. Meanwhile Tony's got guys in his crew shaking down neighborhood landscapers and stealing lawnmowers. Tony actually stressed the financial cost of the beach house he wanted to buy down the shore. Don't get me wrong. Tony did well. Lived in greater financial comfort than his dad's generation. But at the end of the day, he wasn't even close to the massive wealth of some people in the NYC metro area. Being worth about 6 mill in assets sounds about right. Hesh knew what he was talking about.
Very good take. There is "money" and there is "MONEY". Tony had no desire to go mainstream or legal. Remember when Eugene asked Tony if he could leave. Tony couldn't understand what he wanted to do. When his cousin Tony B wanted to go legitimate, Tony couldn't see the scam or again understand.
Money talks. Wealth whispers.
@@MonolithMikeNo truer words have ever been uttered!
There's always gonna be someone richer than you lol. You can have made it in life- be a millionaire, have the nicest house, have a holiday home, have nice cars, but there's always gonna be someone way richer, for example, Elon Musk. Comparison is the killer of joy.
@@assdaisjdansceicyou missed the point.
6g per week is 318000 per year. Meaning Christopher makes hundreds of thousands per year and still lives in a shitty flat in New Jersey.
How many dinners didnt he have to pay for, and how much junk didnt he shoot into his arms
Drugs
Apartments. We call them apartments
@@chrisbarrett8377 who cares what you call them? Oh look, another arrogant seppo
yea but after being made a few years he moved into that big house and got jonny sacs car
You forgot to factor in the insane medical bills the couple of black guys regularly inflict on Tony and his organization.
Wait who? When? Where?
@@vitorsamuel777 - Have you been in NY-NJ area, or no?
@@elcidleon6500 But who are the couple of black guys inflicting medical bills
@@vitorsamuel777 It's a joke, because when ever a robbery happens or something i.e Eugene smacking little Paulie with a bottle they blame it on black guys
@@vitorsamuel777they ran that way
6k a week is insane for a street level soldier. Especially back in the early 2000’s
That’s what I make in 3 months
yeah I don’t think he realizes that it was just for during football season it’s 6k( or at least implied with paulie giving him the gambling business) so it more likely be 2-3k during the slow season, especially in the 2000s
no, that is not unrealistic at all. Gotta remember these guys are expected to spend about half that amount just keeping up appearances basically tossing money into a fire pit.
I thought that. It's not like you could rob a bank every week to meet the 6K fee, as you'd soon get caught. You'd need a regular, steady source of income in order to meet the 6K (312K per year). For Chris, that was the gambling place. I doubt all the other soldiers had a business, casino or lucrative establishment like that.
@@justinshalu8034 Europe?
I don't wanna hear about the economy either
2 industries aren’t susceptible to recessions
@@twean8335Forget about it
*fucking economy
Hey tone did you try the octopus
@@johnandrews389 i'm talkin' 'ere
David chase answered the question of tony’s net worth being $5-6m but added that the figure changes often because of Tony’s gambling. He would be far richer if he never gambled, but instead is often far poorer. There was for example that entire storyline toward the end where Hesh thought tony really might whack him over $200k. Either way I think the idea of Tony earning $5-6m per year passively and millions more through grifts is overly generous. It’s probably a lot less than that. Or he’s seriously gambling away millions a year.
Not much for the level of risk he has to take & the stress he endures
Didn't Hesh say that Tony was worth $600k at best?
@@amerikhan8507 I went back and looked at the clip you're talking about. He says Tony is worth "under 6". Pretty sure he means under $6m. His house alone was easily over $1m
Net worth doesn’t mean per year. Net worth is all assets combined. His net worth being 5-6 kill each is perfectly reasonable if you think he makes less than a million a year.
@@skimaskwithnomask Did you watch this video? OP think's Tony is making like $5-6m passive and millions more through construction, not counting his own heists.
I like how you calculate it, though I disagree on thematic grounds. The fact that other people comment on Tony's house being big* but not 'ultra wealthy' rich makes him seem like he should be getting upper-middle class or lower upper-class income. We see how the others in the crew live; they don't seem to be making that amount of money. Christopher can barely pay for meals when Paulie wants to humiliate him in the latter seasons, or pay for shoes for Adriana. The amount they make should be much lower, despite what is being said that they make.
I agree. Tony lives like a doctor, not a movie star. I'd guess he makes mid 6 figures considering how he lives and how he whines about spending money on AJ's hospital stay and the nursing home for his mother.
True, but that house has to be bought on what his claimed income is, which is much lower than what he actually makes. Unfortunately for most of these guys, they spend it as soon as they get it so they are often cash strapped. Any thoughts on family structure? Thanks for watching!
@@timb4248 mid 6 figures makes sense with how Tony kept getting into gambling debts in the later part of the season. Though as Bully argued, they keep spending it immediately. Though, my perspective is that it's rather difficult to spend a couple dozen thousand a week non-stop. The portrayal that the Sopranos wants to convey is that being in the mob is a cutthroat business where a few make a decent amount of money with low effort work by exploiting others (if you have the personality matrix to be that sort of person), but it's not as lucrative as other avenues in life.
Lol we will never stop running into each other it seems
Chris didn't want to drop like 2 grand on a casual meal. Even if you make good money that's a shit load.
People focus only on his gambling problems as the biggest expense but Tony also spent a lot on luxuries. The boats, the gifts to the family and especially to the girlfriends.
He also has to pay out to different families Big Pussy, the Aprils, and Dimeo
@@Betared2003 Exactly
bro you forget the most expensive thing, the food he eats, he's gonna have a heart attack by the Time he's 50
He also got a bunch of legal businesses - waste management, pork store, Bing, real estate, etc. And a steady salary from Barone sanitation. Must be pretty profitable too.
Sil owns the Bing
The carpenters Union was the goldmine for him.
The New Jersey dental association benefit manager 🤣🤌
Yeah, but he did lose the waste management company and I don’t think the pork store or real estate bought in as lot?
He also had a 3 million dollar home, and according to Hesh Tony’s boat was worth 3.2 million without any resale value lol.
This has been a point of contention among my family for years! My dad had the theory that each of the made guys only made ~200k a year and only soldiers and ralphie were real earners, the rest were just kicking up the earnings from their crews, this would make Tony's cut much smaller than your estimate but I think your methodology is the best way to make an educated guess based on the clues we get in the show.
Tony's cut was definitely smaller. These guys are all crooks. They weren't honest with what they gave Tony.
200k? Paulie drops 5k at Vesuvio's every episode
edit: also, remember the fair fundraiser episode for the church where I think Bobby's kid gets hurt on a ride with Janice.
Paulie donated 40k to the fair's operational costs. I don't think he would so willingly give a quarter of his yearly take home to the church.
@@MaximillianJ The Green Grove Retirement Home for his mother was like $9K a month and Tony asked Paulie if he would be able to afford it. Trust me, these numbers are all inflated. No way does Tony make $5M a year. It's more likely someone like Paulie makes $200K-$300K a year, while Tony might bring in a million.
@@jackolini Yeah, that's what I thought also, if the depiction of the house and all the other amenities is realistic, and I guess it is, 1 million a year is far more in the ballpark. 5 million would make him over 100 million in 20 years, probably from all the side hustles far more than that, impossible to hide that much money, 20 million is easier, add the money Tony and Carmela are hiding everywhere in the house, would also be by far higher amounts. If you look at the mob bosses in New York I think only Gotti was really rich, the other ones tried to hide it more and had probably less. 1-2 million a year is realistic.
@@matthiasblum6555True but remember Tony is a degenerate gambler. Remember the episode where Hesh is talking about what Tony was worth and it was only about 6million including his house. The guy was shocked because he thought the Boss of a Family should be worth more but Tony's gambling and other vices cost him a majority of his income
I don’t think Sil was expected to kickup any money to Tony after he became consigliere.The only time Sil kicked up to Tony in the show was in S4 as a way of apologizing to Tony after undermining him(implying it’s not something he does regularly.) Tony’s co-ownership of the Bing would also probably be considered tribute enough.
Silvio ran the Bing on Tony’s behalf (payroll, bills, usual management crap) and although it’s not explicitly stated in the show , also ran some sort of prostitution ring out of there with the girls which Tony would be entitled to a piece of.
Yeah, Silvio kicking up wouldn't make much sense. Silvio didn't have a crew of soldiers under him to make him cash, so he was earning his money by himself. He basically had the income of a soldier. I don't think Silvio would take the job of number two with all the added risks if there wasn't the added bonus of being exempt from being taxed.
It doesn't make sense for Silvio to kick up because his main job as consigliere is to advise Tony. He's not your traditional soldier or made guy
a consiglieri is the Don's adviser, he doesn't answer to the regular structure of this thing of ours, he answers directly to the Don and it's not expected to be involved in anything whatsoever, so he only has to kick some if he wants to get his hands dirty, but hes paid to be a consiglieri, so...
The thing I loved about the Sopranos was that they always had a working class ethos, it made them seem more real and relatable. The fact that they made less money creates more conflict and therefore drama.
What always bugged me is no one else in his crew seemed to make alot of money judging by Paulies house, Chrissy's apartment, even junior's house. When most accounts of real made men are that they lived very lavish lifestyles. Big ang for example used to say she liked dating wise guys cause they would shower her with extravagant gifts like buy her houses. I don't think any of those guys could afford to buy their goomah a house lol
@@sleepyandhollow.Chris compensated for his shitty apartments by buying a new fancy car every season (his cars didn't fit his low position at the mob at all). He also eventually bought a big house, being about the same age Tony was when he bought his mansion
@dantherman4202 but then I think about Tony's dad, also seemed to live much more modestly than tony, and if you watched many saints, so did Christopher's dad as well as his own dad. I guess maybe only the mobsters of new york made it to those heights? And maybe jersey was always like carmine said a glorified crew
@dantherman4202 It's over for the little guy...
They are not doing any work at all. Leeches sucking good people dry.
I think this was one of my favorite videos from you ever, I’ve always rack my brain trying to imagine how much money Tony soprano actually makes. One thing you did forget, was about Baronne sanitation. I always figured that was actually where the majority of his money came from, especially the hissy fit he threw when New York bought him out.
Oh no doubt. When I started making this video I was originally going to try to include all his legit business but that was going to make the episode very long, so I decided to stick to just what comes up the ladder illegally. Glad you liked it, thanks for watching!
He wasn't mad about the income, as much as he was about the legitimate tax returns, and insurance plan. If anything, he "broke even", with the trash, because Paulie was on the payroll too. Soumded more like he paid Barone to keep him on the payroll...Same with the construction contracts for other soldiers; They knew by then the gov't would come after tax fraud more than anything else; Meaning they were limited to the types of property they could own. Which is why they splurged on accessories instead of tangible property/goods...Ex: Jr Soprano; Had a basic(for the time), 3-4 bedroom house, and no other real property to speak of...Being "the boss", it would be the first thing the gov't looked into...Tony had about the most he could without raising suspicions. Bet he only kept enough in a bank account to cover bills for the next month. Car note, house note, utilities, and insurance; Everything else was paid for in cash/favors...
"Barone", was his $ launderer; He would cycle dirty $ in (under fake accounts receivable); Then, pay himself/Paulie back in a taxable salary to thr IRS. That way, when audited, he could say "here is what I make, and this is all I have to show for it..." LoL; Prob worked out on paper the gov't owed HIM $$$...
@@brentfarvors192he did raise suspicions. Everyone knew who he was and what he did
They provided his insurance and he needed them for tax return purposes. Main needs for it..
Ok but how much does Furio make? Considering he gets an extra $1000 on every pick up he does.
😂😂😂
Good one! 👏
A whole g bird I don’t believe it
Give me one thousand dollars.
@@thetrashman5381 one thousand moar?
Saw this and instantly clicked
Nobody cares
Don’t listen to this fanook. I care.
@@danieljohnson2005 who you calling a fanook? Take a walk
Me too brotha… me too 😂
Same
Got my notification earlier, just got home from work. Now I get to relax and finally watch this!
Yeah but what the capos are kicking up to this man is a disgrace. Frankly im depressed and ashamed
Died on the vine
My estimation of the Sopranos as a glorified crew just fuckin' plummeted
A few things: Christopher was running the betting parlor, so his $6k probably reflects that. Tony/the mob also have work related expenses, like keeping lawyers on retainer, paying for widows (as little as he can manage lol), paying for money laundering services, paying bribes, paying off Uncle Junior, and paying for non-earning employees like drivers, hit men from Italy, etc.
I would say the best way to estimate what he was making is to back into it from his lifestyle. By the end he is probably spending a few hundred k a year on gambling, another couple hundred on Carmela, 100k between supporting AJ and Meadow, 20k in property taxes, a few hundred k on trips, charities, cars, renovations, and so on... based on his money worries and how annoyed he got about Carmela's spending and spec house, I would estimate he was saving
Good estimate. Plus, I can't remember exactly but when Johnny Sack got arrested they went over his net worth as he was on trial so it could be comparable to Tony.
@@zuja666his net was 5 million
@@zuja666johnny sac is underboss of one of the five families he should be a lot richer than tony
You're definitely underestimating how much he loses gambling.
I thought the 6k a week was related to Chris taking over Paulies bookie operation and not necessarily just being a made guy
Yeah that 6k a week was just what he had to kick up to Paulie when he was a soldier. Anything after that was just his to keep.
@@notd0ll109 But it seemed to be the tax on taking over Paulies bookie racket not getting his stripe as a made guy, $6K a week is a lot cash I highly doubt that is the basic kick up to their captains. They were testing Christopher's business brains with giving him that bookie shop. I always got the impression that's what it was about not just specifically his promotion. Did Eugene get a business with his promotion I wonder.
I took a financial investigations class in college. It was taught by an IRS agent. When they bust people for financial crimes, one technique is to overinflated estimated earnings, based on lifestyle and then hand them a seriously high tax bill. If the arrestee doesn't play ball by disclosing sources of income, an asset sale takes place.
thank you for this. I was looking for something like this as Tony's money seems really fluctuating over the series
I think I remember an interview with David Chase who was asked about this, and he said that they themselves had asked FBI personnel who went after mob bosses. Those FBI guys told him that a typical boss or underboss will have a networth of about $4-5 million, with a higher cash flow than normal people. So they might bring in $100k a month, but they have lots of costs too, so their take home at the end wouldn't be that amount.
Jesus that’s chump change compared to what the average Cartel Capo makes.
@@dreamsprayanimationthe only difference is the cartel capos never get to enjoy their money and can’t even live to an old age, if they do, they’re most likely in prison
@@dreamsprayanimation Would anyone on earth want to take on a cartel capo's position though? Tony is bad enough, the cartels are the mafia but literally with 5-10 times the bloodshed, job insecurity, and based in developing nations. Miss me with that shit
@@dreamsprayanimation The cartels are on a different level entirely. Scourges of society. Living demons.
Lol that’s it? Hardly seems worth the crime
7:45 i think you’re right and that it was intentional as the new york families all ways call them a joke of a crime family. Also its a massive point of contention for almost the whole series about how important their relationship with new york is because, tony states it himself, the new york families have so many soldiers and they’d be destroyed
Tony doesn't need money as a made guy he gets soft drinks of choice.
It lines up with how you see them live. Tony lives in a mansion, Sil has a very comfortable looking double story house. Paulie's place looked very average though. Ralphie was also living in a pretty average place considering his income, but Christopher can afford stately Wayne manor when he's a captain. Seems like the soldiers and associates were making next to nothing. Sucks to be Patsy, the eternal soldier
Towards the end of the series, I remember Hesh mentioning that Tony was losing most of his money through gambling and only had a little over $6 million left.
Just watched Chasing It. Such a masterful episode showing the life of a gambling addict.
Hesh says; not including assets he has a little over 6... we don't know if he meant 6million of 600,000. Michael imperioli on TS thought it more likely 600K
He didn’t say 6 million, he said 6 gorillion, pay attention.
@GOSTDatingandLifestyle Man who on Earth would have said "6" while referring to 600K? You'd rather say it while referring to $6 million. Not to mention, Tony would have been the biggest idiot in the history of the organised crime, if after all those hundreds of scores and rackets, after leading a crew of dozens of soldiers and associates and after having lived evading the FBI for decades, he would have only had 600K of saved worth, which is far less than a good manager, banker or a businessman is worth in the US.
@@intelligentspeculator7327 yeah, even i got more than that and i ain't never whacked nobody!
Family? They’re a glorified crew!
LMFAOOOO
He's out of line but he's also correct.
My family is 4 people 😢
The same family you can a fan of.
5 families and we got this pygmy thing in jersey
I think you did a really great job breaking all this down. I think it would have been interesting if you incorporated his legal income as well. Such as the strip club, Barone Sanitation, the pork store, etc. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this.
Strip club was "somewhat", legitimate...LoL; It's a cash business, and lots of srippers do drugs...That scene where Silvio was hassling the stripper for "his" breast implants...At "interest", of course... LoL
Barone is where he makes the money.
I agree, however these also would be front businesses as well that would be used for laundering (cash, retail & assumed union skimming through ghost jobs)
@@jjdillon1207Barone is their bread and butter
He also has his legitimate income. His position at Barone Sanitation and whatever other no show union jobs he might have.
Absolutely. When I started putting this episode together I was going into all that, but the episode would've been looooooooong, so I decided to stick with just what is illegal and could be counted on to consistently go up the chain to him. Thanks for watching!
Nice vid, surprisingly the Wall Street Journal's channel had a vid on this if you're interested. Knowing Tony could be making under $6 mil is killer for that era, but people also have to remember that it has to all be laundered, these guys blow through so much money on women, meals, and sometimes gambling because they know they can't spend it normally.
That 6 million is a gross figure. Once he covers mafia expenses and then taxable income it would be a fraction of that.
"Minus assets? I'd say ...Under six. I've known him a long time" - Hesh projecting Tony's net worth. Side note, how Tony treated Hesh after he owed him 200K was David Chase's way of showing the audience how despicable Tony truly was, setting up his comeuppance and ultimate demise.
It’s arguable that Tony was on a downward trajectory ever since he whacked Ralph over the horse , eliminating one of his best earners over something personal/emotional vs. keeping it only about business
Demise?
@@bdfree901 he dead.
Bully whispers always delivers. Liked and subscribed for the algo as always. Gotta stay Loyle to my capo.
If Vito’s envelope is a little light he can always get a note from his doctor.
Either that or go and grease the union a little bit more
don't forget the skim ..a huge scene was the back and forth between Vito and paulie about how much Carmella should get when Tony was lumped up
Wow. That was really impressive and well thought-out. Meticulously broken down into numbers. Good narration. Very impressive overall. I am subbing.
In the book Donnie Brasco, Bonanno Family boss Philip Rusty Rastelli was in prison. Nick Nicky Glasses Marangello was his underboss or street boss. There were 9 Capos under him. Each one of the Capos had to 'kick up' 50 grand a month to Rusty. Say Marangello had to kick up twice that amount. That's 550,000/month to Rusty, or aboot 6 mil a year. Not a bad income. But to put it in perspective in the Brasco time frame circa 1980 the Chairman and CEO of Heinze 57 was making 42 mil/year. Early Hedge Fund guys like Irving were pulling in 60 mil.
Those guys had 0 Criminal Records and alot more Education and Job Experience!😡
I just wanted to take a moment to say how amazing your video was! I was really impressed with the quality of the footage, the editing, and the overall presentation. You did a great job of explaining the topic in a clear and concise way, and I learned a lot from watching your video.
I also really appreciated the way you made the video engaging and entertaining. You kept my attention throughout the entire video, and I never felt bored or lost. I would definitely recommend your video to anyone who is interested in learning more about the video.
Thanks again for making such a great video! I look forward to watching more of your content in the future.
PS: I outsourced this feedback to AI.
I always wondered how Tony could afford such a nice house and all that before he was boss ?? Like all the other captains houses we see aren't near as nice as Tonys
An impressive, thorough and thoughtful analysis. Thank you.
4:45 Bodie came all the way from Baltimore!
That was after the first time he escaped from baby booking lol. If you listen towards the beginning of the video there is a pause between when i say "this will cause us to take a detour that i wasnt expecting" and the word "and" after it because I was originally going to put the Lester Freemon clip "follow the money and you dont know where the f$%# it goes" clip but I didnt end up doing it. Thanks for watching!
@@bullywhispers9544damn probably should have, would have been good XD
You explained what the whole show revolves around aside from all the family problems very good analysis
For all of you guys saying he’s mid 6 figures income due to his house and lifestyle remember
1. Tony/you can only buy a real estate investment that large with taxable/documented income
2. Tony does have a gambling/lifestyle issue. He clearly spends an exuberant amount of his money on woman and gambling
3. He does always have money a ton of illegal money hidden all over the place in his house. In random tin cans, under the floor in his pool house and in his bird feed
4. He also did have to work his way up the latter and go from living like Chris or Paulie to where he is now and that takes a lot of time in the mob considering 80%+ of what you make gets kicked up
Nah it's not 80%..more like 40-60%
Bird feeder? You sound demented.
they never ask what you make or where you made it from. numerous mob rats have stated his on youtube. 20-25% gets kicked up and that's for everyone. associates through captains
@@Andre-by4su lol thanks I just corrected it to feed 😂
The house was built by his father-in-law as a wedding gift.
Am I wrong in saying that the board from season three had mikey p (deceased) and not in season 4? Look at 6:37.
Then you gotta factor in how much Carmella took from the bird feeder lol
There's a couple of flaws here. Firstly, the pygmy thing IS the Soprano family as it relates to the 5 families, not an off-shoot crew within the Sopranos themselves.
They are referred to multiple times as a 'glorified crew', implying a little over the typical 10-per-capo Roman Legion ratio making up the entire family. I reckon 15-20 soldiers in total.
The Aprile crew is Ralph, Eugene, Vito and that other guy at one point - assuming 3 or so soldiers per captain, 4 captains that would roughly work out.
Junior's crew had Patsy, Spoons, Mikey (captain), Chucky, and Bobby (the last man standing) when he was boss...so only 5 there
S1 captains are Jimmy A, Larry, Raymond, Tony himself, and Mikey P. We know this from the nursing home meetings.
Paulie gets bumped later, Sil is consigiliere, Richie comes out S2.
Think this is all accurate
Edited to add that yours is a great breakdown and conversation starter 👏🏻
And you think we see all of the members of Soprano crime family? Series mostly follows old Tony Crew plus Junior. And Aprille crew. We don't see much of other captains and crews. Only occasionally. Soprano family is 50-60 members for sure. Plus associates. Which is small to 200 people of New York ofc but not that small. It's expected that New Jersey mafia is smaller the big five from New York.
The Dimeo family in the show is much larger and more powerful than the Jersey family in real life. Since the real life Jersey family had about 60 made guys during the 90s and 2000s it can be assumed that the Dimeo family had slightly more at around 70 to 80 made guys. Just because we don't see every single soldier doesn't mean they don't exist.
It would be impractical for the show to try and name 80+ soldiers without it coming across as overkill. We only see a handful of Lupertazzi's but we know they have 100's of soldiers.
@@gigagod3384 200 for Lupertazzi.
Them being labelled as a glorified crew was more of an insult that reality. They were New Jersey mob and were the equals of NYC.
Not as much money as a varsity athlete.
His hands were too small to grab that much money. Thanks for watching!
This vid is so well done and I got nothin but respect in how ya laid it out.
I always figured Paulie was going rough on Chris making him bring in $6k per week. I mean, how much crime can you really commit regularly? I feel like they made less than that.
it was $6k a week from an up and running/functional gambling den they ran. During betting season hes making $50,000+/week easy off it not to mention sharking ontop of the gross via vig.
If Chris played his money right Football and Basketball season would get him through the summer easily on kick up to Pauly.
Drug Trafficking is consistent crime. Lucrative consistent crime as well.
There are two things that have been recession proof since time In memorial. Some aspects of Show Business and this thing of ours
@@mysteryjunkie9808where’s the fuckin money??? Oh no one knows what the fuck I’m talking bout now?? 😂😂
Fabulous video! I really enjoyed the time and dedication you put into this! My only complaint is that you didn't factor in Tony's disclosed income from Barone Sanitation as a consultant. Clearly it has to be large enough sum of yearly income to justify the house, the cars, etc. Whether or not Barone is actually paying that, or it's just a cover, is up for debate I guess, but I doubt Tony is getting *nothing* from them.
Funny thing, when I started making the episode, I was including the legal sources of income but the episode was shaping up to be very long, so I limited it to what was kicked up the chain and even then its long compared to most of my episodes lol. Glad you like it, thanks for watching!
In 1960 the Mafia offered me a job as a "Bag Man" in the Calumet Region of Indiana. The pay was, a new black Cadillac or Lincoln every year (I got to choose), $500 a week tax-free ($5000 a week in today's money) and all expenses paid. They also informed me that they had selected a "nice girl" for me to marry. For this, five days a week, I had to be "available" to go to a given address and pick up a package and deliver it to another given address. That address could be across town or across the country. They gave me a week to accept or decline the offer.
When I ask why they had selected me I was told that it was because I had honorably fulfilled my military obligation, was a respected, honest Practicing Catholic, and that crooks were a dime a dozen. To be honest, I thought about the offer but in the end, turned it down. Sometimes I wonder what and where I'd be had I accepted ... but I've never regretted that decision.
you'd be left holding the "bag" and in prison I'm willing to bet
Dude at work said his brother had a leg chopped off by a rival drug traffiker gang, you hang out with evil people doing evil things you are going to get dirty too.
cool story
That's nice dear.
Cool video. Yeah when Eugene got his inheritance and told Tony about the two mill I thought Tony was instantly jealous. This is video provides a whole new perspective as Tony makes more than double that per year. Part of why I didn't think Tony made that much was because Johnny Sac's estimated net worth was 5 mill when he got busted, but I guess that was only clean money.
Tony also mentions during the construction shut down that johnny sack only has that construction project for his income. Johnny wasn't mister moneybags. Moved to jersey to also save money.
When John Gotti was asked what he made a year he said 5 million. He was a degenerate gambler as well. These bosses make a lot, but not wall street money 50-100 million+.
What I never understood about the executive game was that half the players were in Tony's crew.
Definitely earned a sub! Great video. I love the analysis
tony - 20,000 to 25,000 a week
silvio - 10,000 to 20,000 a week
paulie - 5,000 to 10,000 a week
ralph - 20,000 to 30,000 a week
christopher - 5,000 to 15,000 a week
Ralph making more then the boss?
@@user-fu5lt5cq2j boss is just paid tribute, a made guy could have a racket that makes millions, keeps most of it
@@user-fu5lt5cq2jit all ends up going to tony anyways 🤷🏽
@@user-fu5lt5cq2j in real mob they have 10% rule, of any money that you earned by criminal business or somehow connected to the mob you pay 10% to the boss, for non criminal money you dont get taxed as far as i know
Not everyone kicks up the full amount for sure, thats why I tried to establish minimums so that we could come up with an amount that Tony would get consistently. Doesn't take into account favors etc.
These kinds of videos are fresh air
This was an incredible assessment and as close to accurate as we'll ever see
He's off by a lot imo. One zero too much
Brilliant video! But you have to add them all up at the end?! !!
This video was narrated really well and edited perfectly. And obviously brings interesting insight to what people have always been curious about. Well done 👍
I think it varies a bit by season. In S1 he was realistically a capo with boss powers. everyone was kicking up to jackie/junior. So he would have been more in the high 6 figure, low 7 figure range. 750k-1.5 million.
S2-S5 was definitely a high point as he did the hostile takeover on junior, got further entrenched with new scams and had the entire family kicking up to him. That said, Id argue 50 soldiers is a bit much. Remember smaller families like the actual new jersey family/philly family/boston family would have crews in the 4-8 people range quite often. So for me, Id argue at his height tony was looking more at a 3-5 million number.
by S6 the scams were still running but I think there was a lot of retirement and attrition going on over the course of the last two seasons and it seems like the family had gotten significantly smaller. In the end his income probably came down to a point where it was in between what he was making as a capo and what he made at his height. maybe in the 2 million range.
You've just made your bones with this vid. Hecsh estimated Tony's net worth to be at about $6 million net of assets but was that annually or just total. I read that an FBI consultant on the show estimated that a guy like Tony would be worth 6 million and that's where that figure came from. I also read somewhere that all 3 members of the administration are entitled to tribute and not just the boss and also that in the some families guys like Silvio get to run their own rackets without kicking up or that they share the boss's cut on his most lucrative rackets. Paulie runs the rackets in the old neighbour since it was Tony and Johnny's old turf so he would have been making quite a bit even though the Apreele Crew made the most.
Johnny was not New Jersey he was a friend and as such could mix with them for business. Paulie terrible at the business side and he knew it and even murdered his mother’s friend.
2:25 If Sirico were paid for breaking the 4th wall he will have couple of three hundred bucks, WEHT?!
You aren't factoring in the "Boss' bonus", where often times soldiers and Capos throw in extra just to get the Boss' favor.
Of course, you aren't factoring Tony's individual wealth prior to becoming Underboss and later Boss.
Absolutely. I was just trying to come up with conservative consistent estimate about what came up the ladder. I avoided net worth because Hesh tells us what it is and there is no reason not to believe him.
@@bullywhispers9544 oh I totally agree.
No one ever brings up how Tony was able to live like Boss, even back when he was a Capo.
WOW, really well done. Thank you for spending all that time in piecing all of it together. I look forward to seeing more from you. Really awesome job.
BTW, in my opinion the Sopranos is the greatest drama in all of TV history. The best writing and the best acting I've seen.
Finally, I have to disagree with David Chase. I still firmly believe that it was us, the audience, that got whacked in the very last, fade to black scene in the last episode.
That's more money that I thought they'd be earning but considering that they have garbage and unions and a lot of guaranteed income that's not too bad even with all their scheming percentages here and there at all adds up.
After watching the show and seeing how much sports betting is important to the Mobsters in the show I wonder how much new developments like DraftKings as messed them up.
Probably a lot, but not the people who have to borrow to gamble, which would be a double score. Thanks for watching!
2:06 bold of you to assume they dont actually deal in boxes of ziti
Hesh already told us it’s not as much as we think it is. He said Tony was only worth 6 million because he spends and gambles too much! Under the table I would say that Tony took 800 thousand a year! Since he became boss!
F.y.i. I wrote this comment before I watched the video. So let’s see how close my estimated guess was!? 🧐🤔
Hash said, “minus assets…under 6.” I think he meant 600k. If it was 6 mill, Tony wouldn’t have a problem paying $200k back to him.
@@frankyu6984 it was 6 mil. Tony never had a problem paying Hesh back. Nothing in his life changed when he paid Hesh back. He was just being a petty bully because Hesh wanted his money back. As soon as Hesh broke because of his wife dying, Tony immediately put together the 200k in cash and delivered it.
It can be assumed almost all of Tony’s wealth outside of the houses and cars is in off shore accounts and/or stocks, but he was “cash poor”, which is why he needed the loan from Hesh.
@@frankyu6984
Tony had a cash flow issue due to poor planning.
What are you referring to when you say "pigmy" thing? I thought that was new york referring to the north jersey family as a whole
In this life Capos like Paulie would have a regular tribute to Tony that he would always need to provide. The soldiers under Paulie and the associated would also have a pre-determined regular tribute that must be paid. If any of the guys did not make the cuts their lives would be in danger. So, Tony could certainly account the exact amount of weekly funds that he received. Any extra heists could provide additional funding with splits, but Tony’s income would’ve been rather regular.
Not sure what is the basis of your assumption about a fixed rate from the Capos. Throughout the series there were several references to some of them - like Ralphie - as good earners. Makes me think they only 'kick up' a portion of what they made. Similar to the feudal tax of tithe.
Yeah and Paulie had a light envelop a couple of times. And Sil mentioned Albert kicking up a lot more than Paulie was so I don’t think there was a set amount on every Capo
@@bornagybalazs Ralphie was considered a good earner because he regularly kicked up more than the required weekly/monthly amount. People being considered good earners in no way negates that fact that there was a fixed amount they were required to kick up.
@@mysteryjunkie9808 how could an envelope be light if there isn’t a fixed/expected amount?
@@bornagybalazs and of course they only kick up a portion of what they make. If they had to kick up everything they earn why would anyone join?
I don't remember where I read, but Tony made supposedly made around 3-3.5m a year but he don't have a lot of saving since he is a gambling addicts and their family spend money like it grows on trees.
If I'm not mistaken, doesn't Tony also receive a yearly salary from barone sanitation for tax purposes ?
Yes, and he has some legal businesses etc, but if I started getting into all that this would've been a 3 hour long episode lol. Found that out the hard way. Thanks for watching!
@@bullywhispers9544lol one day
Missed a few big ones. Consulting salary from Barone Sanitation, Satriale's, the Bing, etc. For example Jason Barone said Tony had the 2nd highest salary in the company, lets conservatively assume in circa 2001 that's around 200k but could potentially be 600k.
I always wondered how his scheme with Barone sanitation worked. They say he gets a W2 for tax purposes, but I'm sure, knowing Tony, that he actually demanded the salary from them too. It had to have been enough to justify their large house in an expensive town with a sizable plot of land + a boat + two expensive cars + private school tuition for two kids + a maid. Conservatively, it had to have been at least $300k per year in 2000's dollars, no?
He would 100% be getting an actual salary from them. You still need banks statements showing money from company is going into accounts. Bank statements that would be needed to buy or rent a house or numerous other things you'd need to prove your income which. The fbi isn't just gonna go alright boys hes got a w2. Lets pack it in!
Excellent. Not sure why it matters to me, but for at least a decade now, I just wanted exactly this kind of simple, back-of-the-envelope estimate of Soprano financials/economics to help me understand that universe better...Thanks!
I always got the impression that while they made decent coin it was still not enough when it came to the risk involved.
Also the New York families saw New Jersey as a glorified crew. While some of it can be down to snobbery. There is also truth as the FBI put so little resource in bringing them down.
Great breakdown! I always wondered about this. Nicely done!
From what I understand 2 soldiers per capo might actually be rather accurate for the modern mob. They have become less and less likely to promote people to full members. So anymore soldiers are more and more like the crew's deputy capos.
You also forgot to add in Tony's legitimate sources of income. Not all of Tony's income came directly from crime. While I'm sure plenty of cash wash cleaned through the deli I'm sure the place probably turned over an ok profit on it's own
Soldiers to bring 6000 usd a week? Where do they get that (and in 1999 dollars)? Is bot a soldier something like a pawn, muscle etc?
More than me
(Looks up how to start a mafia family)
I love how you say “even still.”
Nice touch ;)
When he said top five guys. That should indicate they're are more than 5 capos
And then include his Barrone paycheck.....and it's even more
More than a mailman
If I missed it I am sorry. Did you account for him being on Barrone Sanitation’s payroll? Perhaps getting a check from The Bing as well? He may have been getting a check from the stock firm as well. You are right impossible to know for sure, I think you are super close. Great video.
theres no shot they had 50 soldiers. I think it'd be closer to 25. Also Christophers minimum was probably a bit higher than normal, because Paulie is a stickler.
Has David chase ever said in interviews?
Johnny Sacs was worth 15 million in 2004. Tony went to jail in 2007, so say he worth 8 million. Jersey has about 50 members, as NY had about 200 members. Plus other associates Jersey has about 30, NY has about 100 associates.
Watching the series a few times now I think the number you came up with are very very high. Considering how they all lived.
These numbers seem a little high. Most guys weren't even good earners.
I think these types of videos are always fun. If you are indeed right, that's not a bad little yearly income for T man.
I think there are some inconsistencies with your accounting and other facts presented in the show.
First, in season six, Hesh estimates tony is only worth 5 million. Hesh’s estimate is very low if tony was making 3-5 million / year on his soldiers income alone, gambling aside. And very low a year after tony sold his garbage company to Johnny sack.
Also, Tony’s car theft ring grosses 80k per car and it was implied he did around a dozen of those a month. And I I think this ring persisted even after furio went back to Italy, so I think it’s worth calling this steady income. Assuming tony makes 25% of gross, that’s 3 million per year from just that scheme.
And by the end of the show, imo, it feels like tony is the only one cooking up new schemes and his family is bringing in way less income years after Vito’s death. Overall, when tony was at the height of his power, I’d guess he was making way more than your estimate. But, coincident with Phil’s rise to power this income started falling and was ultimately the reason tony was taken out. He was no longer a stable source of leadership and income and the only guys left were button men and not earners.
Very good points! Thanks for watching!
yeah, the lack of the clip with Hesh where he estimates Tony's net worth was baffling.
Surely, he has lots of expenditures, like when you are a boss it is your job to take care of the families of past members, but we know how greedy Tony was, and in the end he did not give money to relocate Vito's son due to the gambling losses. What should be also highlighted is the fact, that money need to be laundered, and either literally hidden under earth or placed in various legal businesses. From every dollar laundered you got only a part, who knows what deal with the Russians Tonys has (80 cents on a dollar?).
Also in the video a welath of Johnny Sack could be used as a point of refference.
th-cam.com/video/n6rR9Ugv9gI/w-d-xo.html
But if he spent millions on the house, boat, gambling and bribes, it perhaps makes sense that he won't be as cash rich as you might have thought. Having said that, the house is probably only worth a mil, and that's probably paid off anyway. Who knows.
@@goodyeoman4534yes house price was around the 1 million price 25 years ago since it was nothing crazy
Car prices were much less too. Now days loaded Escalade cost 120k or something
College fees were lower too
His only ultra luxury thing was the boat 🛥️ I would say
This is an awesome video! But we need to calculate inflation back to the year this originally aired! What would that be in 2024 dollars?
tony was a legitimate businessman!
That’s an awesome breakdown my man 👍🏻
I don’t know how much Tony made, but it never seemed to be enough.
This is a good nerdy fan vid. Nice job!
The executive game was the one thing that always bothered me. It didn't seem monthly or even biannually. Half the players were guys on Tony's crew. Two or three punters betting how much in one night? Looks like way more work and lack of sleep than it's worth.
I agree, and I never understood what edge they offered the players. Come play in a dingy motel room with a bunch of crooks?
These guys could find high stakes like this at any casino within a 15 min drive.
@@TheJobtate The edge is almost exclusively about privacy.
The players are more-or-less aware of how much they're paying. They know it's expensive. They know Atlantic City is very close, and they could just go there instead. They consciously choose the executive game, despite this.
What was that one episode where Hesh was talking to his wife about what he thought Tony had or made after all he spends?